Observations
From A Public Servant
Who Understood Who He Works For
"Have no respect whatsoever for authority; forget who said it and
instead look what he starts with, where he ends up, and ask yourself,
"Is it reasonable?
The idea that no one
really knew how to run a government led to the idea that we should
arrange a system by which new
ideas could be developed, tried out, and tossed out if necessary, with
more new ideas brought in - a trial and error system.
This method was a result of the fact that science was already showing
itself to be a successful venture at the end of the eighteenth
century.Even then it was clear to socially minded people that the
openness of possibilities was an opportunity, and that doubt and
discussion were essential to progress into the unknown. If we want to
solve a problem that we have never solved before, we must leave the
door to the unknown ajar."
We are at the very
beginning of time for the human race. It is not unreasonable that we
grapple with problems. But there are tens of thousands of years in the
future. Our responsibility is to do what we can, learn what we can,
improve the solutions, and pass them on. Richard P. Feynman
Read more at:
https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/richard_p_feynman_104570
We are at the very beginning of time
for the human race. It is not unreasonable that we grapple with
problems. But there are tens of thousands of years in the future. Our
responsibility is to do what we can, learn what we can, improve the
solutions, and pass them on.
The first principle is that
you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool"
- Richard P. Feynman
EXPERIMENT
José Alberto "Pepe" Mujica Cordano, was the 40th
President of Uruguay and a former urban guerrilla fighter
with the Tupamaros, who was also imprisoned for 13 years. Mujica
won the 2009 presidential election in Uruguay and has been described as
"the world's 'humblest' president" due to his austere lifestyle and his
donation of around 90 percent of his $12,000 monthly salary to
charities that benefit poor people and small entrepreneurs.
"As soon as politicians start climbing up the ladder, they
suddenly become kings. I don't know how it works, but what I do know is
that republics came to the world to make sure that no one is more than
anyone else."
"A president is a high-level official who is elected to carry
out a function. He is not a king, not a god. He is not the witch doctor
of a tribe who knows everything. He is a civil servant. I think the
ideal way of living is to live like the vast majority of people whom we
attempt to serve and represent."
"On the pomp of the presidential office: "You need a palace,
red carpet, a lot of people behind you saying, 'Yes, sir.'
I think all of that is awful."
“The world will always need revolution. That doesn’t mean
shooting and violence. A revolution is when you change your
thinking. Confucianism and Christianity were both revolutionary.”
“We have sacrificed the old immaterial Gods, and now we are occupying
the temple of the Market-God. He organizes our economy, our politics,
our habits, our lives and even provides us with rates and credit cards
and gives us the appearance
of happiness.”
“When you buy something, the instrument is money, but in reality you
are buying it with the hours of your life that you spent earning that
money. The greatest thing that you have is that you are alive.”
“I’m just sick of the way things are. We’re in an age in which we can’t
live without accepting the logic of the market… Contemporary politics
is all about short-term pragmatism. We have abandoned religion and
philosophy … What we have left is the automatization of doing what the
market tells us.”
“Are we governing globalization or is globalization governing us? Is it
possible to speak of solidarity and say that “we are all together” in
an economy based on ruthless competition? How far does our fraternity
extend?”
“What some call the ecological crisis of the planet is a consequence of
the triumph of human ambition. This is our triumph as well as our
defeat.
“My definition of poor are those who need too much. Because those who
need too much are never satisfied.”
“Consumerism could be the final stage in human civilization, if we keep
battering and attacking nature."
“We can’t live alone. For our lives to be possible, we depend on
society. It’s one thing to overturn a government or block the streets.
But it’s a different matter altogether to create and build a better
society, one that needs organization, discipline, and long-term work.
Let’s not confuse the two of them. I want to make it clear: I feel
sympathetic with that youthful energy, but I think it’s not going
anywhere if it doesn’t become more mature."
“Being reactionary is the pathology of the conservative. It is go
backwards and comes from a dogmatic and closed mindset. The pathology
of the left is infantilism. It is the permanent confusion of an
illusion with reality.”
“There are those who believe that power is up above, and they don't
notice that it's actually in the hearts of the great masses.”
“There are people who say that you can't experiment... That condemns
you to failure.”
“I don't know whether I like this planet or not. But I have to accept
it.”
"I'm not the poorest president. The poorest is the one who needs a lot
to live. My lifestyle is a consequence of my wounds. I'm the son of my
history. There have been years when I would have been happy just to
have a mattress."
"I have a way of life that I don't change just because I am a
president. I earn more than I need, even if it's not enough for others.
For me, it is no sacrifice, it's a duty."
“I am frugal, not poor. Frugal, with a light suitcase. I live with
little, just what’s necessary, not too tied down to material things.
Why? So I can have more free time. To do what? What I like. Freedom is
having time to live."
"Abortion is old as the world. Gay marriage, please — it's older than
the world. We had Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, please. To say
it's modern, come on, it's older than we are. It's an objective reality
that it exists. For us, not legalizing it would be to torture people
needlessly."
"Worse than drugs is drug trafficking. Much worse. Drugs are a disease,
and I don't think that there are good drugs or that marijuana is good.
Nor cigarettes. No addiction is good. I include alcohol. The only good
addiction is love. Forget everything else."
“All of the police measures we’ve undertaken in the last 100 years
against drug trafficking have multiplied crime. Drugs have spread and
violence has overrun society.”
"Be yourself and don't try to impose your criteria on the rest. I don't
expect others to live like me. I want to respect people's freedom, but
I defend my freedom. And that comes with the courage to say what you
think, even if sometimes others don't share those views.